3 ms·
The earth as a giant ball of matter is an interesting geological phenomenon, but our concern is more the earth as a viable biosphere, which, as you note, is a m
by roughly 1y ago
The earth as a giant ball of matter is an interesting geological phenomenon, but our concern is more the earth as a viable biosphere, which, as you note, is a much more constrained system, and that seems to be the set of constraints we haven’t internalized yet.
- eru 1y agoYes. It's just that this is very distinct from the physical notion of a 'finite, closed system'. The biosphere isn't closed: it regularly exchanges material with the rest of the giant ball of matter.
- roughly 1y agoI mean, I think it’s a distinction without a difference, is the problem - yes, the biosphere exchanges material with the rest of the ball of mud, but that, for all intents and purposes, is a closed system, and so things like its ability to draw down carbon, or dilute pollutants, or break down plastics, are constrained beyond where we apparently thought they were. Per the notion of landfill mining, that also puts constraints on how effective we can be there - how much energy we can commit to that, what level of wastage or side effects we can accept. We’ve had a philosophy that all problems will be solved in the future by technological developments, but our timelines don’t seem to be lining up right now.
- 8note 1y agocarbon in the air only matters insofar as the earth is not a closed system. its a very big distinction. open and closed systems are specific terms
- roughly 1y agoYou’re right, I’m not using the term in its correct physics meaning. Is there another word or phrase you’d suggest for the concept here?
- eru 1y agoEcosystems have _finite capacity_ to cope with what we throw at them (and still be useful to us in the broadest sense). The qualification in parens is just there to take care of the objection that no matter how hard we try, we won't be able to eradicate all life on earth with current technology. But we can make life pretty miserable for humans with current technology. The benefit to us doesn't have to be in any monetary sense. Just the satisfaction of knowing there's a beautiful forest would count.
- mcphage 1y agoAlso a lot of energy is continuously pumped in from the giant ball of (plasma) matter a bit away.
- eru 1y agoOn net, we are radiating about as much energy into space as we are getting from the sun. (Even the worst scenarios of global warming are rounding errors compared to the energy of the sun that hits the earth every day.) In any case, 'closed system' specifically refers to matter. Energy is allowed in or out. Compare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_system and see the little graphic on the top right.